His Girls
by firebrat5289
Summary: Jack was torn when Maria took the kids to Chicago. How do the girls deal with everything that's going on? very AU
1. Ch 1: Talking about New York

Title: His Girls

Summary: Jack is torn apart when Maria files for full custody of their daughters. How do the girls react though? (AU)

Disclaimer: I do not own Jack, Hannah, Kate, or Maria Malone, nor do I own Danny Taylor, Martin Fitzgerald, Vivian Johnson, or Samantha Spade. I do, however, own Nicole Malone, and I'm probably going to end up just making up the name of the girls' schools, and of Jack and maria's lawyers.

**A/N: I saw the episode of WOAT last night that was the Jack's deposition for custody, where he ended up throwing a chair through the window, and it sparked ideas. I know that they only had the two daughters, but as in most of my stories, I needed an older main character to write through, thus the creation of Nicole Elizabeth Malone. I am making a lot of this stuff up, so please remember that it's just a story.**

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"What do you girls think about New York City?"

Mom says, watching our faces in an effort to gauge our reactions. She's got Hannah, Kate, and I all sitting in the living room of our small Chicago apartment, saying that she had a big thing to talk to us about.

"Daddy was there."

"It was great."

"We miss New York, mom."

The three of us spout off our thoughts, answering her question. This 'family meeting' was a spur of the moment kind of thing, so none of us had any idea what it was all about. Since mom and dad had started what was sure to be a long custody battle, we hadn't seen dad, and mom had been acting more and more erratically.

"I know you miss New York, girls, that's why we're all going up there tomorrow. We leave tonight!"

Hannah and Kate are ecstatic to be seeing dad again, regardless of why we're even going up there. Being the oldest child, I know the tricks, and I know that there has to be a catch.

"What's the catch, mom? You never just do anything like this on a whim."

"Well, you know you're dad's deposition is tomorrow, and I want to be up there, to see what's going on."

"That's not a good idea. I can feel it already."

"Nicole, I'm the parent here. I know what is best for you girls, you're just going to have to trust me, okay?"

"Is Frankie going to be there?"

Mom's new boyfriend, who is also her lawyer, Frank Johnson. She has been dating him since she left dad, but mom likes to call it 'having professional meetings'. Personally, I don't like the guy, and probably never will.

"Knock it off, Nicole. You know Frank is going to be there, he's my lawyer."

"No mom, he's your boyfriend. I know that, you know that, and the girls know that."

Quickly losing control of my temper, I turn and make my way to my bedroom, falling back onto my bed. I look over at my bedside table, and see a picture of Dad and us kids when we were in New York last. Even though dad's work schedule was crazy, and he tended to work some serious overtime, he was still our dad, and to us, the greatest one there ever was. Dad made sure that there was always food on the table, a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and made sure that we were happy. Dad was always there to say good morning, and say goodnight. Mom may have thought it took more than that to make us happy, but that was all Hannah, Kate, and I needed in a dad. The five of us were always closer than us kids and mom were. I pull my suitcase out of the closet and start packing up my clothes. For some reason, I have a strong feeling that I'll be staying in New York from now on. I look around my room, taking it all in, because soon, my life would change forever, and I would never be coming back here again. Or at least if I had anything to do with it.


	2. Ch 2: Christmas Party

Title: His Girls

Summary: Jack is torn apart when Maria files for full custody of their daughters. How do the girls react though? (AU)

Disclaimer: I do not own Jack, Hannah, Kate, or Maria Malone, nor do I own Danny Taylor, Martin Fitzgerald, Vivian Johnson, or Samantha Spade. I do, however, own Nicole Malone, and I'm probably going to end up just making up the name of the girls' schools, and of Jack and maria's lawyers.

**A/N: I saw the episode of WOAT last night that was the Jack's deposition for custody, where he ended up throwing a chair through the window, and it sparked ideas. I know that they only had the two daughters, but as in most of my stories, I needed an older main character to write through, thus the creation of Nicole Elizabeth Malone. I am making a lot of this stuff up, so please remember that it's just a story.**

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"This is the last boarding call for flight to Cleveland, again, this is the last boarding call for flight to Cleveland."

After our flight from O'Hare to JFK was delayed by two hours, Mom, Hannah, Kate, and I all got to New York safely. Kate threw a fit because she didn't like waiting, Hannah got sick from the turbulence due to the storm, and Mom had thrown a fit because, well, I don't really know why, but she had. I was just excited to see dad again. We all got our luggage and drove over to the hotel where we were staying. It was a really nice four star hotel, which I didn't really understand how mom could afford.

"When are we going to go see dad, Nicole?"

Kate asks, not really understanding the intensity of the situation that mom and dad were in. I look over at mom who motions the number five with her hand, and I turn back to Katie.

"Sweetie, dad's going to be a very important meeting for a while today, but the three of us can hang out with Samantha, Viv, Danny, and Martin while mom talks with dad and the lawyers."

"Won't they have work to do?"

"No, today's their annual Christmas party, remember? They have it the same time every year."

I change into some clean clothes, still suffering from jet lag, while mom, Hannah, and Kate get their stuff unpacked. We all go downstairs, getting into the cab, and drive over to the FBI Manhattan field office.

"Now, those aren't our Malone girls! They've grown too much to be our girls!"

Danny was a lot of thing, and a great guy was one of them. He had always treated us kids really well, and with a lot of respect. Maybe it was because we're his boss' kids, or maybe it was because he really cared, but to the 'Malone girls', it never really mattered.

"Oh, Daniel, but it is. All of us are the Malone girls, Katie-doll, Hannah-Banana, and Picky Niki."

"What are you guys doing here?"

I motion over at mom then over at the room where dad is seated with the three other people.

"Your mom actually brought you guys to a deposition?"

"Her idea, not ours."

"Well, look, the party doesn't actually start until four but you can come hang out with the guys."

"Sure!"

Hannah says, just happy to be back in the city. Danny smiles, and leads us over to the area where the other agents are waiting by a very poorly decorated Christmas tree.

"Look who decided to join us for some Christmas cheer!"

danny says, announcing our arrival. Around here, we weren't just Jack's kids, we were a part of the Missing Persons Unit family, and that was always something I loved knowing I could fall back on.

"How'd you guys get here?"  
Danny starts shaking his head, telling Martin that he really didn't want to get involved with this. If I had been given the choice, I wouldn't be involved with this either.

"I tell you what, ladies. This Christmas tree is looking pretty bad right now, and it needs some love. What do you say? You want to help Sam and Viv decorate it?"

"Sure!"

"Yeah!"

Hannah and Kate move over to the tree, pulling some decorations out of the box, and hanging them on the tree branches. Danny leans up against the big table on one side of me, while Martin stands on the other, handing me a cup of egg nog.

"Is it really that bad, Nicole?"

"I wish I could say that it wasn't, and that everything was going to be okay, but I can't. It's getting insane. At first, none of us had a problem with moving to Chicago, as long as we could still see dad every once in a while, but we haven't seen him in months! Mom's losing her mind, working crazily long hours."

The two agents just stand beside me, nodding their heads. They've been with dad everyday, and know that he hasn't been the same since Mom took all of us to Chicago.

"I'm looking for Jack Malone."

We all turn around and see our Grandpa Nick, dad's dad.

"Grandpa!"

Hannah, Katie, and I all hug grandpa, glad to see him again. Before we left, he had been diagnosed with stage 1 Alzheimer's disease. It had been really serious, and none of us knew what was going to happen to him.

"What are you girls doing here?"

"Mom wanted to sit in on dad's deposition, and she didn't want to leave us in Chicago, so, you can fill in the rest."

"I'll wait for your dad to get out of the meeting. How have you girls been?"

If I didn't think that Grandpa Nick would lose his cool, I would have told him anything. But I wasn't sure if he could take it. At this point, I wasn't sure of anything.


	3. Ch 3: Losing Control

Title: Little Girls

Summary: Jack is torn apart when Maria files for full custody of their daughters. How do the girls react though? (AU)

Disclaimer: I do not own Jack, Hannah, Kate, or Maria Malone, nor do I own Danny Taylor, Martin Fitzgerald, Vivian Johnson, or Samantha Spade. I do, however, own Nicole Malone, and I'm probably going to end up just making up the name of the girls' schools, and of Jack and maria's lawyers.

**A/N: A lot of this stuff is made up. Please forgive me. Thanks _Hotchner_and_Pealee_for your great reviews! Hope you all this chapter**

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"They have schools here, friends here, their grandfather lives here, whom Nicole, Hannah, and Kate are all very close to."

"And you're here?"

Dad had been in the deposition for hours, and was starting to break down and lose his temper. The last question, though, was one that really threw him off stride. It was like he didn't know the answer, even though it was right in front of his face. Using the signature Malone smart remark, he replies to Frank.

"Obviously. Wait, what is she doing here?"

Dad asks, seeing mom walk into the room in her typical lawyer in-the-zone attitude. She was a dynamite lawyer, but this was the one time when I wished she wasn't so dynamite.

"I'm here to sit in on the deposition, Jack. You know perfectly well that I have every right to be here."

"Jack, focus, let's get back to the questioning."

Mom and dad shoot each other evil glares from their spots at the conference table, then turn to the lawyers, building up their defenses against the questions.

"At this time, Jack, do you feel that you are better suited to raise the girls, here in New York City?"

"Absolutely."

Back in the main room, Sam, Viv, Kate, and Hannah were hard at work decorating the tree, Martin was laughing at them all, Danny was carrying a conversation about the war with my grandfather, and I was left alone to wonder what was going to happen to our family, the Malone family.

"Nic!"

We all hear mom yell my name from where she stands at the door to conference room. Knowing that she's using my nickname, I stand up and walk over, getting looks of pitty from the agents who know the whole situation.

"Nicole,"

Dad looks as if he's about to break down at any minute. He looks weary, and unsure, something I'm not used to seeing from my father.

"Maria, why did you bring the girls to New York?"

"I couldn't very well leave them in Chicago by their selves, now could I?"

"Nicole, go ahead and take a seat next to your father."

I nod my head and sit down next to dad, at his lawyer's request.

"Let the record show that Nicole Malone is now joining the deposition. Miss Malone, you are representing the interests of yourself, and your two sisters, Hannah and Kathren in this matter."

"Yes."

I say, nodding my head. If anyone should decide what happens it's us kids, and I know that in this matter, Hannah and Katie feel the same way that I do. Paying attention to the way mom works in the court room was definitely going to pay off in this situation.

"Nicole, do you ever hear your parents fight?"

"You find me an American couple that doesn't fight at one time or another."

"What sort of things did they fight about?"

"Mostly about the other working too long of hours, about things that were going on in the world, about us kids, everything."

"Which parent, in your opinion, worked the most hours?"

"Well, Dad and mom both worked all week, and occasionally had days off, but never at the same time. Even when mom was home, she would talk about work, so I'd say mom worked the most."

"Did your dad ever do things that your mom didn't?"

"He'd take us to school sometimes. By then, mom would always be at the law firm."

"But your mom was always there to make your meals, and tuck you into bed wasn't she? She was always there to take you to practices and rehearsals, right?"

I could feel my temper rising again minute by minute. Mom is glaring at dad, who is glaring at me, and I'm glaring over at the lawyer questioning me. The thought of strangling him crosses my mind, but is soon eliminated by the overwhelming fear of never seeing my dad again.

"In all, your dad really doesn't do much for you, does he? Your mom is the one that does almost everything."

I push the chair behind me, leaning forward, my body resting on my hands on the table.

"Look, I don't know what kind of picture you're trying to paint, but you are wrong. My dad is the best father in the entire universe. Sure, he's not the conventional eight to five businessman, that comes home after a long day of work, kisses his wife, and helps the kids with their homework, but that doesn't matter to Hannah, or Katie, or myself. Dad works so hard to keep a roof over our heads, clothes on our backs, and food on the table. He loves us more than life itself, and would gladly throw himself into front of a bus if it would keep us safe! We love our father and don't want to be taken away from him."

I leave the room, leaving everything behind me, just wanting to get out of here before I lose control and have a mental breakdown. I run down the flights of steps, ending up outside, right in front of the field office, tears cascading down my face. I know I'm the big sister, and I should stay strong, not just for my sisters or my sake, but for my mom and dad's sake. If things are this bad for me, I can't imagine how bad they are for mom and dad. I stand in that position for a moment, staring down at the ground and trying to compose myself. A Kleenex tissue appears in front of my face, and I hear a voice ask the ultimate question:

"Are you okay?"


	4. Ch 4: Talking over drinks

Title: His Girls

Summary: Jack is torn apart when Maria files for full custody of their daughters. How do the girls react though? (AU)

Disclaimer: I do not own Jack, Hannah, Kate, or Maria Malone, nor do I own Danny Taylor, Martin Fitzgerald, Vivian Johnson, or Samantha Spade. I do, however, own Nicole Malone, and I'm probably going to end up just making up the name of the girls' schools, and of Jack and maria's lawyers.

**A/N: I'm making a lot of this up. Please forgive me.**

**A/N: Please review if you read it. I try to get the chapters out to you all on a timely basis, and reviews is the way of knowing that you appreciate it. Again, hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

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"Thanks."

I say, as I use the tissue to wipe the tears from my red face.

"And yes, I'm alright."

I look up and over at the man standing beside me, and for a moment, I could swear that I'm staring at a younger Martin Fitzgerald.

"Are you sure? You seemed pretty upset about something."

"A bunch of personal junk is going on upstairs, and it just got to be a little too much to handle, that's all."

"Do you want to go grab some coffee or something, calm down?"

"You're being so kind, and I don't even know you're name."

I look over at him, a small smile on both of our faces. He extends his hand and I shake it.

"Mike Fitzgerald. You are…"

"Nicole Malone. Good to meet you."

"Same here. Now that we're aquainted, do you want to go get some coffee?"

"Sure, I'd like that."

We walk down the block to this great café, and order our drinks.

"So, are you Martin's…."

"Brother, yeah. I just came down to the city to talk with him. Since our aunt died, we haven't really spoken. A lot of stuff went down that day."

"I remember dad talking about that. I was real sorry to hear about her death."

"Yeah, well, she went peacefully and that's how she always wanted to go. How about you, Nicole? What are you here for?"

"My mom and dad are going through this huge divorce process, and today happens to be my fathers deposition."

"Jack?"

He asks, wondering if he got it right. I nod my head telling him that he was correct in assuming that Jack was my father, and continue with the story.

"Anyway, mom had moved us all to Chicago in her effort to get back at dad, yada yada yada. She brought me and my two younger sisters back to New York, so she could sit in on the whole deposition thing."

"How'd you end up in front of the building, bawling your eyes out?"

"I was not bawling! I was just….well, I was crying hard."

"right, sure."

I look up to see Mike flashing the Fitzgerald family grin. I smile back at him, then look down to see a text message on my cell phone screen from Martin.

"We should probably get back to the office before your brother kills me."

"Why would Martin kill you?"

"I left him with my little sisters. By now, they'd be driving anyone crazy."

Mike and I pick up our stuff and head back to the office, going up to the missing person unit.

"Hey, Nicole, your sisters finished the tree. What do you two think?"

I look over at the tree, seeing it decorated perfectly. Sam leans over and whispers so that Hannah and Katie can't hear her.

"Of course, we did redo half of it."

Mike, and I laugh at Sam's comment, and for a moment, the problems seem to fade away. I feel like I'm home again, living in New York with dad, hanging out at the office with everybody, and just having a grand old time.

"I'm tired, Nicole."

I look down to see Katie rubbing at her eyes, a sure sign that she was wiped out and would be falling asleep soon.

"Why don't we all go to dad's office, and you can sleep on that sofa that he has in there. Alright?"

"Okay."

The three of us walk into dad's office: Kate falls asleep on the sofa, Hannah falls asleep on one of the chairs, and we see that Grandpa has already passed out on one of the other chairs. I turn and look at the door to see Dad walk in.

"Hey, how long have they all been out?"

"Hannah and Kate haven't been out for that long, and I have no idea how long Grandpa has been out. How are things going in there?"

"I don't know, Nicole. Your mother putting you in there was crazy, but you helped me. At this point, it's all up to how your mom's deposition goes."

For us kids' sake, and for my parents' sake, I hope that everything goes off without a problem.


	5. Ch 5: Coming back home

Title: Little Girls

Summary: Jack is torn apart when Maria files for full custody of their daughters. How do the girls react though? (AU)

Disclaimer: I do not own Jack, Hannah, Kate, or Maria Malone, nor do I own Danny Taylor, Martin Fitzgerald, Vivian Johnson, or Samantha Spade. I do, however, own Nicole Malone, and I'm probably going to end up just making up the name of the girls' schools, and of Jack and Maria's lawyers.

**A/N: I'm making a lot of this up. Please forgive me. **

**A/N: Thanks Hotchner and Pealee for your awesome reviews! I know that a lot of us hate Maria, but this chapter isn't going to be full of Maria-bashing. **

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"Nicole, wake up sweetie."

I turn my head, adjusting my body from the position it had occupied on the chair. About an hour after Hannah and Kate fell asleep, I had also fallen asleep in the chair behind dad's desk. Dad had told me once that your dreams sometimes help you figure out problems that you are having in real life. I tested that theory, but soon found my answer, feeling mom shake me awake. I still had no idea of what was going to happen with our family living situation.

"What time is it?"

"About a quarter till five."

"Is the deposition over?"

I ask, looking around. The girls are still asleep, and I see dad standing in another room talking to his lawyer.

"That's what I need to talk to you about. Can you come with me for a minute?"

"Sure."

Something has mom questioning herself, and it's driving me crazy trying to figure out what. I stand up and follow mom down the hallway into the conference room.

"What's going on mom?"

"Look, I know I kind of messed things up for you girls."

"Mom,"

"Just let me finish, okay Nicole? For awhile, I thought moving us all to Chicago was a good idea and it would make everything okay again. I thought that we all needed to be away from your father, that he was the one that was causing all of the problems, but I was wrong. Moving to Chicago just made everything worse."

As I see mom on the brink of an emotional breakdown, I feel the need to step in and be, not only her daughter, but be her rock, too.

"Mom, you tried. I'll agree that moving away from dad was a fairly bad idea, but you did what you thought was best."

"I don't want to make any more decisions without consulting you girls first. Do you all want to stay in New York?"

"Yeah, of course we do, but what are you going to do?"

"Don't worry about me. I'm an adult, I can take care of myself. I just want you to understand that I love you very much, and when Hannah and Kate get older, I want you to let them know all of this."

I look at mom like she's crazy. I know exactly what she's planning on doing, and for some reason, I feel no remorse as to leaving mom behind.

"Can you send your dad and his lawyer in here, please?"

I nod my head, standing up from the table, and walking into the hallway. I motion to dad and his lawyer that mom is waiting, then go back into the office, and sit with Hannah and Kate.

"Alright does anyone have anything to say off the record before we begin again?"

"I do. Look, Jack, while I do think that I would be spending more time with Nicole, and Hannah, and Kate, it doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel right to take you away from those girls, not when you've never left them before."

"Maria, what are you saying?"

Dad is sitting in a state of shock, while the lawyers are looking back and forth at each other, not quite believing what mom is doing.

"I want you to take care of the girls. I'm a partner in a huge law firm now. You know I've been wanting that opportunity my entire life. I just won't have time to give the girls the attention they deserve."

"Let's get this straight. You took the three girls to Chicago, become a partner in a huge law firm, and decide that you no longer have time to care for the girls?"

"Yes."

"Well, I have to say that this is definitely a first for me. Luckily, I made papers in case either of you decided to make this decision."

Dad's lawyer reaches down and pulls out a stack of papers, and slides them towards mom.

"I'll need you to sign all of these. Jack, you'll need to sign them too, but if it's too late, I can get them to you in the morning."

"Yeah, I'll sign them in the morning. Right now, all I can think about is spending some serious time with my daughters, excuse me."

Dad stands up and practically runs out of the office. He walks into his office loudly, successfully waking Hannah, Kate, and myself up.

"Daddy?"

"Dad, what's going on?"

"You girls are coming back to New York, and you're going to be living with me."

Hannah and Kate seemed to be just as excited as dad was. Dad wrapped all three of us in a big hug, holding us all close to him, never wanting to lose us again. From this moment on, I don't care how childish dad treats us, because we are his little girls, and he will never let us go again.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**A/N: This is the end of the story. This is not really a good chapter at all, but I wanted to wrap it up, in my effort to move on to a Nicole Malone/Michael Fitzgerald storyline. So, review, and I'll try to write more ASAP.**


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